Aliah Bowllan returns after month-long injury in Syracuse’s loss to Pittsburgh

After being sidelined with an injury for nearly a month, Aliah Bowllan was flying around the court. She made play after play where she laid out to keep the ball from hitting the ground. At times, she leaped through the air on consecutive plays. Diving on every part of the court, her instantaneous reflexes and sublime technique were on display.

Defensively, she kept Syracuse alive.

Registering 16 digs against No. 3 Pittsburgh (16-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast), a team that has lost only one set in its last four games, Bowllan was a bright spot in the Orange’s (4-8, 1-4) straight-set loss. Her game included seven more digs than the next best player from either team.

“Today was probably either her best or top three best matches I’ve ever seen,” assistant coach Derryk Williams said. “I thought she played out of her mind.”

Bowllan shined in the Orange’s first set, holding her ground defensively and keeping the ball in the air so the offense could run. Her acrobatic efforts kept rallies going, allowing teammates Polina Shemanova and Ella Saada to register 15 and nine kills, respectively. Though Bowllan had a quieter second and third set, she continued to make diving saves of the same caliber. Even on points that SU lost, Bowllan’s energy extended them.

The senior missed Syracuse’s last six games with a right ankle injury, leaving the team without a libero. During her absence, head coach Leonid Yelin played outside hitter Kendra Lukacs in the position. Knowing Bowllan would return in time for Friday’s matchup against the Panthers, Williams said that the team needed balance between making sure she was ready while simultaneously making sure not to re-aggravate her ankle during practice this past week.

“At this point in her career, she knows what she needs to do,” Williams said. “We’re not going to teach her something incredible that’s going to make her that much of a better volleyball player, so we’ve got to figure out what amount of reps are important.”

Her return changed nothing about the game plan coming into this game — both Williams and Bowllan herself said that the defensive strategy is identical regardless of the libero.

The senior’s success in the first set resulted in some of the best play the team has had all season, keeping up with the nation’s third-best team for the entirety of the set. After suffering from gaping defensive holes and serve-receive issues against Wake Forest last week, Bowllan filled in gaps across the court.

“Just look at the numbers, how much she was digging,” Yelin said.

Yelin admits that beyond her performance, he’s just glad that she is healthy — his biggest concern throughout the game was potentially losing Bowllan again.

“In regards to my ankle, I feel a lot better and I wouldn’t be pushed to play if that wasn’t an opportunity that came about,” Bowllan said. “It’s really exciting… and I’m so happy to be back.”

But perhaps most impressive was the caliber of the attack which Bowllan’s 16 digs came against. During warm-ups, the Panthers pummeled kill after kill, sending the Syracuse ball-boys running in every which direction to collect the balls. The wicked power behind Pittsburgh’s warm-up hits was too much for even the Panthers’ own players to handle: a pregame scrimmage left Pittsburgh players standing helplessly, unable to return kills, and ultimately phased by their teammates strength.

“We’ve been there before, we’ve played great teams in the past,” Bowllan said about her first game back being against one of the nation’s top teams. “Nothing [was] really different.”